


like father like son

by fonulyn



Series: surprise family [1]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Feels, Fluff, Leon finds out he has a kid, M/M, Piers Nivans Lives, Surprise Son for Leon, and joins the BSAA, does my Piers-bias show?, idk what to tag this, said kid is over twenty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24841564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fonulyn/pseuds/fonulyn
Summary: This man, thisboy-- There was no way around it. He was the spitting image of Leon. To be exact, the twenty-one-year-old Leon who had somehow lived through Raccoon City, probably with equal parts of skill, determination and sheer dumb luck.And now Chris felt like he was staring right into Leon’s eyes.Fucking hell, Chris thought, he must’ve been too tired for this today. But there was no time to dwell on it, not before the young man spoke up in a bright, enthusiastic voice. “Liam Scott Williams, sir. Very excited to be here!”-Or the one wherein Leon finds out he has a son.
Relationships: Leon S. Kennedy/Chris Redfield
Series: surprise family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814176
Comments: 18
Kudos: 90





	like father like son

**Author's Note:**

> For [a tumblr prompt](https://fonulyn.tumblr.com/post/621546215164837888/okay-heres-one-lets-say-that-instead-of-wesker)! :3 It kind of. Turned longer than I thought it would lol. 
> 
> Thanks to welshbaes and lovelyleons for helping me name Leon's son ;)

Truth to be told, seeing the new recruits was never Chris’ favorite thing to do. Every year they seemed to be younger and younger, and his heart was aching for all these almost baby-faced young soldiers who were so determined to put their lives on the line to save the world. It hurt that it was even needed, that there still were enough assholes who spread the viruses. When they got rid of one, at least three new ones seemed to appear.

So Chris knew it was necessary. He knew it was needed. And he knew these kids _wanted_ to help and wanted to make a difference. Yet he hated this. 

“Stop frowning,” Piers hissed at him, even nudged him with his elbow a little, “you’re going to scare them. We can’t afford to lose any new recruits to your resting bitch face.“

“They’re so _young_ ,“ Chris muttered under his breath, unable to tear his eyes off the line of young men standing very still, waiting. 

“They’re all qualified and capable,“ Piers answered curtly. And he was right, but that didn’t exactly help a lot. This wasn’t a rational thing for Chris, this was an emotional one, and he didn’t know how to handle it as well as Piers did.

And Piers himself was one of the reasons. “I remember when _you_ were that young,” Chris pointed out. And he couldn’t help but let his gaze flicker down to the bionic arm, even as he tried to avoid it. “And what I put you through.”

Piers scoffed. “ _You_ didn’t rip off my arm, thank you very much.” Truth to be told Piers was much more at ease with his prosthetic these days than _Chris_ was, he’d made his peace with it and he was as proficient with it as he’d been with his original arm. “Now stop the frowning. It’s my job to scare them, you’re supposed to be the father figure.”

“ _Father figure_?“ Chris croaked. He couldn’t help but choke out a laugh though, and Piers seemed to be content with that. At least he’d gotten Chris to stop frowning so hard.

As usual, Chris exchanged a couple of words with each of the new recruits. He made a point of at least greeting everyone they took in, even if he couldn’t actually get to know all of them, not with the sheer number of people they employed. And it seemed to mean a lot to the new recruits, too. At least Piers was always adamant that it needed to be done. 

So Chris tried his best to stay calm and friendly, shook hands and nodded at introductions and asked a few trivial questions. Until he came face to face with a young man and almost choked on thin air.

This man, this _boy_ \-- There was no way around it. He was the spitting image of Leon. To be exact, the twenty-one-year-old Leon who had somehow lived through Raccoon City, probably with equal parts of skill, determination and sheer dumb luck. 

And now Chris felt like he was staring right into Leon’s eyes.

Fucking hell, Chris thought, he must’ve been too tired for this today. But there was no time to dwell on it, not before the young man spoke up in a bright, enthusiastic voice. “Liam Scott Williams, sir. Very excited to be here!”

“Hello, Leo-- Liam,“ Chris already fucked up the name the first time he said it, but he couldn’t help himself. How the hell was this young man so much like Leon? He risked a quick glance at Piers, and felt a little better about himself as he noticed that Piers looked almost as spooked as he did. So at least it wasn’t only in his own head then.

They only talked for a minute, but even as Chris went through the rest of the line, he barely registered anyone else’s name after this. His brain was stuck on this Leon-lookalike, and he didn’t know how to get over it. Maybe this was some distant relative? Leon never talked about his family, maybe he had... young cousins?

Whatever it was, Chris couldn’t get this out of his mind.

*

“You know,” Chris spoke up that night, already tucked in bed. Leon had gotten home only an hour before, barely awake enough for a shower and something to eat before he’d fallen in bed and told Chris he’d sleep for a week. And Chris had tried to stay silent, had tried to let him rest, but this wouldn’t leave him alone. “There were new recruits today.“

“Hmm?” Leon mumbled, already half-asleep. He buried his nose into the pillow, but as Chris didn’t immediately go on he at least acknowledged him enough by cracking one eye open. “I know it sucks and you feel like sending kids out on the battlefield, but--“

“One of them looked just like you.“

“What?“ Suddenly Leon was completely awake, both eyes open, and even lifted his head off the pillow to squint at Chris. “What do you mean looked just like me?“

“Exactly what I said,“ Chris answered. “It was like... going back in time and meeting you again in the nineties. It’s... It wasn’t only a little bit of similarity. He was like a copy of you.“ Before Leon could argue, Chris added a hurried, “Piers agrees with me. He's seen pictures of you at that age. I’m not imagining things.“

Leon frowned, clearly confused. “Well,“ he shrugged after a moment, “maybe I’ll have to come meet this mystery person then. See _myself_ with my own eyes.“ He snickered, obviously thinking that he was hilarious. 

“Are you sure that you don’t have a secret wife and kid? Because that’s the only explanation I’m coming up with,“ Chris joked. 

“Trust me,“ Leon laughed, reaching out to pat Chris’ bicep, “the last time I thought I was into women was before Jackie broke up with me. And that was over twenty years ago.“ He smiled at Chris, even craned his neck so he could press a quick kiss in the corner of his mouth. “Stop worrying about it. I’m sure it’s just some freak coincidence.“

“I guess so,” Chris sighed. But he did reach out to switch off the light and settled down for some sleep.

*

In the end they forgot about it. The following days were busy, Chris didn’t spend much time with the new recruits, and he was beginning to think that he’d probably imagined everything. There was no way that the boy looked as much like Leon as he’d thought, right?

 _Wrong_.

Three weeks later Chris was faced with Liam again, as Piers had dragged him to Chris’ office for a stern talking to. Usually Piers was the one who handled things like this, but now he’d been adamant that Chris should at least talk to the rookie. “Seriously, Chris, he’s got the skills. He’s phenomenal long range, and I don’t remember anyone scoring this high overall. But he’s fucking _reckless_."

And with a sigh Chris relented.

So Piers called Liam in, and remained standing at the door while Liam awkwardly shifted from foot to foot in front of Chris’ desk. 

“Want to explain why you thought it would be a good idea to split from the group and get yourself in the middle of...“ he glanced at the report in front of him, “four of the mutated creatures?“

“To be fair, sir,“ Liam grimaced, “I didn’t realize there were more than one.“

Chris didn’t say anything, only arched an eyebrow. Behind Liam he saw Piers roll his eyes, and he had to bite back a laugh as he remembered more than well when _Piers_ had been young and stubborn and had to suffer through talks like this. Multiple times. It hadn’t been that long ago.

“I was testing a theory,” Liam explained after a beat, “we haven’t seen these creatures before, but it seemed obvious to me that their weak spot is in their back, in their lower spine. So I was... testing a theory?“

“And was his theory correct?” Chris asked, addressing Piers this time.

With a grumble, Piers nodded. “Yes. But it was no reason to jump the gun and almost get _killed_.”

Liam glanced at him over his shoulder, his stubborn expression softening a little. His smile was almost sheepish, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. “I’m sorry, sir. Won’t happen again.”

Chris barely even noticed how Piers easily took over scolding the rookie. There was something so familiar about him, something so... Chris shook his head a little, trying to focus. He didn’t know this kid, not although it felt like he did. So many of Liam’s little gestures and expressions were so much like Leon’s. If he didn’t have a different haircut, Chris wasn’t sure if he could’ve handled this at all.

Getting to know Liam more during the following weeks somehow both highlighted the similarities and made it easier to see him as a person of his own. Besides the looks, he had the same sense of humor as Leon did, but he was more temperamental and quicker to jump to conclusions, to only name a few things.

Liam was a good kid. Twenty-two and full of determination to make the world a better place.

*

Leon stepped out of the BSAA main doors when he spotted his mysterious doppelganger for the first time. It was easy to recognize him, as that face was familiar enough. Leon had looked at it in the mirror often enough about twenty years ago. Curiously he approached, as the young man seemed to be alone, fiddling with his phone.

“Liam Williams?” he asked, offering his hand for a shake as well as a smile. “I’m Leon. I’ve heard a lot about you.“ He got a wide-eyed look in return, so he figured he’d need to explain who he was and what he was doing here. “I’m not actually stalking you or anything. I’m married to Chris Redfield, he’s the one who’s told me about you.“

Liam’s expression brightened immediately. “You’re Agent Kennedy!?” he asked, almost starry-eyed. “It’s such an honor, sir. You’re a _legend_.”

“Stop that,“ Leon shook his head, chuckling a little. Kids like these always made him feel sort of embarrassed. “Just Leon, please.“ He gave the kid an once over, still wondering how it could be he looked so much like a young version of him. “How are you liking it here?“ He nodded vaguely towards the building.

“It’s what I always wanted to do,“ Liam said with emphasis. “I want to help people! Make the world safer.“

“Redfield not too hard on you?“ Leon asked with a small grin.

“Well,” Liam drawled, but he seemed to be relaxing, at ease in Leon’s company, “I haven’t actually worked with him a lot. He’s kind of... seeing him is kind of being sent at the principal’s office.“

The description made Leon laugh. He could so imagine that. Chris was grumbling and complaining about desk duty and about the paperwork, but he was still an essential person in the whole organization. He was the father figure, like Piers so often liked to point out.

Speaking of him, Liam’s expression brightened even more as he went on. “Captain Nivans is great though. I always thought I was good but man, I’ve got _nothing_ on him.”

Leon nodded at that, unable to hold back the small grin. “I’m sure if you’ll ask him he’ll show you all of his tricks. He’s a good guy, and a good teacher too from what I’ve heard.”

“I’m sorry I ramble, I’m...” Liam hesitated a little. “I’m finally getting to do what I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid and... It’s all so exciting.“

“What made you want to join the BSAA?“ Leon asked, curious.

“My dad died in Raccoon City,” Liam explained, something melancholy in his eyes as he spoke. "So my mom raised me alone. And I... I don’t really know anything about my father except that he was a cop? He wanted to help people too. And since these viruses cost him his life, I figured I could honor his memory, you know? And help make the world a little safer, too.”

The speech was so passionate, so _genuine_ , that Leon was genuinely impressed by it. This kid was going places. He was only twenty and he was so dead set on changing the world that there was no way that attitude wouldn’t push him into actually making a difference. “That’s pretty impressive,” he said, at length, not knowing what else to say either.

“Thank you,“ Liam said, smiling. He already opened his mouth to go on, but then he spotted someone approaching, his smile widening immediately. “Oh! It’s my mom! She’s visiting me for the weekend here, I was just waiting for her.“

A small brunette woman approached them, but already from distance Leon realized who it was. Twenty years may have passed but she still had the same bright eyes, the same easy smile, and it was like she had barely aged a day. He felt like the ground opened up beneath him, the sensation of falling freely only stopping when her expression morphed into one of shock.

“Leon!?“ she asked as she finally came to a halt in front of them. In her surprise she completely ignored her son, instead staring at Leon like she’d seen a ghost. “Y-you? You’re _alive_!?“

Leon gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I’m alive,” he said, “Good to see you, Jackie. It’s been a while.” Everything was making a frightening amount of sense all of a sudden. Liam’s father who had been a cop and died in Raccoon City, and Jackie thinking that Leon had been dead all these years? There was really only one explanation. So with a shaky voice, Leon went on. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jackie frowned, but she still seemed wide-eyed and like she was trying to somehow get a grasp of the whole situation. “Because I thought you died. And I... it never even occurred to me you might’ve survived.“

At that point, Liam made a frustrated sound, frowning at the two. “What the _hell_ is going on here!?“

“Honey,“ Jackie finally turned to smile at her son. She steeled herself, straightened her shoulders and just from looking at her one wouldn’t have known anything at all was wrong. “Meet your father. Leon Scott Kennedy.“

*

Everyone took the news surprisingly well. Chris insisted on inviting Jackie and Liam over for dinner, and once they got over the initial awkwardness it felt shockingly natural. It felt like they had been doing this for ages.

Liam was enthusiastic to get to know the father he’d never had, and since he’d already sort of admired Leon he seemed just eager for all the possible professional tips he could get. He didn’t even mind he was getting two dads for the price of one, as Leon and Chris definitely were a package deal.

The only downside to Chris was that while Piers had kept calling him the father figure of the BSAA for years, now he took this as an open invitation to be even more obnoxious about it. And Liam? He joined in, that little traitor. 

All in all, Chris decided that it could be worse. He could live with this.

*

“Claire has been really pushy about Christmas lately," Chris started, leaning against the kitchen table. He only got an acknowledging hum from Leon, but it was enough and he went on. “She wants us to invite Jackie and Liam.“

Leon gave a small shrug, turning to look at Chris. “They might have their own Christmas traditions. I don’t remember if Jackie had a big family or not,” he said, “but I can ask. That’s all I’ll promise.”

“That’s enough,” Chris grinned, “I’m sure Claire will be satisfied with that.“ He fell silent again, lost in his thoughts, and only when Leon nudged him with a plate and told him to sit down he shook himself out of it. 

They dug in, both just happy that they didn’t need to be cooking anything. Re-heated leftovers was ten times better than actually having to go through the trouble of preparing food at this hour when they were both ready to crash into bed.

“You know,” Chris spoke up again, when he’d emptied his plate and Leon was only pushing food around on his own. “We might have to invite Piers too. I think your son has a gigantic crush on him.“

“That’s nothing new,” Leon laughed, tilting his head as he looked at Chris. “I could’ve told you that after the first time I spoke with him. The boy has good taste, you’ve got to admit. Probably gets it from his father.“

"Yeah.” Chris rolled his eyes. Despite that he managed to look endlessly fond. “Probably.”


End file.
